Dedicated to the Business of Contemporary Live Music
MORE THAN 250 creditors are owed in excess of £4.5 million by the former operator of the Preston Guildhall (cap. 2,034) and Charter Theatre (780) complex, following its collapse into administration in June. Among the many suppliers, show productions and promoters owed money are music industry companies including Primary Talent…
Read moreA US company involved in a unsuccessful bid to build an arena in Bristol (see issue 225) is revealed to be making a concerted effort to create a rival venue to the 21,000-capacity Manchester Arena. Los Angeles-based Oak View Group (OVG), which also owns US live industry publication Pollstar, is…
Read moreLONDON-BASED Festicket has secured a contract to be exclusive UK and Europe ticket partner for America’s 125,000-capacity Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. The event takes place over two weekends, 10-12 and 17-18 April 2020, in the southern California desert. Festicket is offering booking support in eight languages and a…
Read morePETER IRESON has been appointed as the new venue director of Nottingham’s Royal Concert Hall (cap. 2,200) and Theatre Royal (1,100) complex. Previously head of culture, events and tourism in Derby, Ireson has more than 25 years’ experience in venue management and arts administration to the position. “Peter is a…
Read moreTHE INDUSTRY has welcomed the appointment of Yorkshire MP and outspoken anti-ticket touting campaigner Nigel Adams as Minister at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whose brief includes the music and the creative industries Adams, who became a Conservative MP in 2010, is vice-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary…
Read moreBACKED BY Arts Council England, the University of Suffolk and the local council, music convention multi-venue festival Sound City Ipswich will be the first of its kind in the city. Organised by the team behind The Smokehouse (cap, 80) and Liverpool Sound City co-founder Out Loud Music, the 4 October…
Read moreTWO FESTIVALS have been cancelled due to severe weather warnings. Cornwall’s biggest festival, Boardmasters (cap. 50,000) in Newquay, was due to take place between 7-11 August, but was cancelled at the last minute. In a statement from festival management cited exceptionally high winds as a particular cause for concern. Full…
Read moreCARDIFF IS a step closer to gaining a 15,000-capacity arena after the local council revealed plans to go to tender for a developer to build and operate a venue in Cardiff Bay. The council said planning consent could be achieved by 2020, with the arena potentially opening in December 2023….
Read moreFORESTRY ENGLAND presented Paul Weller with a commemorative plaque carved from an oak burr to mark the sale of more than 145,000 tickets for his Forest Live series concerts. He was presented with the award after completing his latest run of dates, at Cannock Chase Forest (site cap. 6,000). Weller…
Read moreWITH A move to a new venue after 12 years at its previous location, the annual LIVE UK Summit conference and networking event is adding new panels and features to the one-day event. Under the banner New Venue, New Date, New Focus, the event is set to take place on…
Read moreTWO ICONS of rock ‘n’ roll are to headline a major tour of the UK decades after their death. Los Angeles company BASE Hologram Productions has partnered with promoter Kennedy Street Enterprises on a 12-date Roy Orbison & Buddy Holly arena tour. The October shows will see holograms of Orbison…
Read moreTHE UK’s first Hard Rock Hotel has opened at London’s Marble Arch, less than a mile away from the world’s first Hard Rock Café was established in Old Park Lane, Mayfair, in June 1071. The hotel boasts 900 rooms and suites, along with a Hard Rock Café, cocktail bar and…
Read moreGENDER BALANCE initiative Keychange has received more than €1.4 million (£1,280,000) from the European Commission (EC). Launched by PRS Foundation, the charitable arm of performance royalty collection society PRS For Music, in 2017, the initiative aims to achieve a 50/50 gender balance across events such as festival line-ups and conferences…
Read moreGREATER MANCHESTER Combined Authority (GMCA) has committed to introducing a Music Board to strengthen and grow the region’s music scene. GMCA’s pledge is a result of recommendations made by industry umbrella organisation UK Music, following a review of the city’s music scene. “This will get all the right people around…
Read moreESTABLISHING A separate identity to its sister venue in London’s Soho, the 120-capacity PizzaExpress Live in Holborn is hosting evening such as An Audience with Bob Harris, alongside premium ticket concerts. The Bob Harris event comprises what the venue describes an intimate evening of story and song from the BBC2…
Read moreSOMERSET HOUSE Trust is looking for an architect to design a new 700-capacity concert venue within the Grade I-listed building in central London. The Trust says the £50 million multi-purpose venue would host concerts and other events. “We are a contemporary arts centre so any new performance space would be…
Read moreINVESTOR ISSUES have been blamed for the cancellation of Livewire Festival in Blackpool, for the second year running. The event was due to take place from 22 to 25 August at the Tower Headlands Arena (cap, 20,000) and be headlined by Ms Lauryn Hill. The cancellation of last year’s festival,…
Read moreAFTER MANY months of pressure from politicians and across the live music industry, most notably from FanFair Alliance campaign manager Adam Webb, Google has finally agreed to suspend Viagogo as an advertiser. The internet giant said it has excluded Viagogo from its paid-for search results, globally and with immediate effect….
Read moreTHE COMPETITION & Markets Authority (CMA) is taking legal action against controversial resale platform Viagogo for contempt of court, claiming it has failed to fully comply with a court order served in November 2018. The order required Viagogo to overhaul its UK website by 17 January, in order to bring…
Read moreAEG PRESENTS has launched a pan-Europe festivals division and appointed Jim King as CEO. Previously executive vice-president of live music, King already oversees the company’s British Summer Time (65,000) in London’s Hyde Park, this year headlined by artistes such as Florence + The Machine, Robbie Williams and Barbra Streisand.
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